2010 Honda CR-V Boosts Power, Mileage

The Honda CR-V is one of the best-selling cars in its class and one of the best-selling cars in the entire market. However, Honda has made some significant changes to the powertrain to help it compete with more fuel-efficient models like the Toyota RAV4. The 2010 CR-V goes on sale today.  

Horsepower has gone from 166 hp to 180 hp for 2010 and mileage actually improves by 1 mpg for both front-wheel and all-wheel drive models. Those ratings are now 21/28 mpg city/highway and 21/27 mpg city/highway respectively.

In the looks department, the CR-V gets a new grille and front bumper treatment that does alter the look quite a bit compared to some other facelifts we see. The rear refresh is much less significant with new yellow turn signal indicators and a slightly different lower rear bumper.

While the interior looks the same in terms of layout and design, Honda says it has improved the quality of its seat fabrics and improved small things, like a new door handle that now has a rubber grip. The armrests for both front occupants have also been widened.

Honda says the radio controls have been altered but we have no images of them. The stereo and information display between the gauges also gets a new blue backlight instead of black.

Features like Bluetooth and USB audio are only available on the top trim levels (EX and EX-L) with Bluetooth only coming with those trims that have a navigation system. That’s a lot of money to pay for features the competition is putting into much less expensive vehicles.

Pricing has increased between $300 to $900 depending on the trim level, but those price increases seem in line with the level of changes for the new model.

We have many more images and a full price breakdown below.

Honda CR-V Now Most Popular SUV

The Wall Street Journal has written a story about how the Honda CR-V recently passed the Ford Explorer as the most popular SUV in America. That’s true; there have been 104,179 CR-Vs sold through June of this year, versus 74,704 Explorers. The redesigned CR-V is seeing brisk sales, but Ford isn’t necessarily losing the SUV game. It’s Escape compact SUV, including a hybrid version, has sold 92,205 vehicles in the same time frame — up from last year — and is one of the company’s best-sellers. It’s also direct competition for the CR-V. Ford has also sold 58,783 of its new Edge crossovers, which it hopes will replace the Explorer as the family transport of the future.

Is Ford in bad shape because the CR-V has taken over the top spot? Not necessarily, but being No. 1 doesn’t hurt.

Ford, Honda Cross Paths on Sales of SUVs (Wall Street Journal Via GM InsideNews)

Related
Cars.com Honda CR-V Video (YouTube)
Expert Honda CR-V Review (Cars.com)
More Honda CR-V News (KickingTires)

Friday Fleet Notes: 7.13.07

This week the staff takes on three very different vehicles: the Honda CR-V, Infiniti M35 and BMW 650oi convertible.

2007 Honda CR-V EX

My wife was a little stunned when she got into the CR-V; she was expecting a smaller cockpit area, especially given how small the CR-V seems from the outside. “I like the look if it,” the wife said. “It’s sharper-looking than the previous one, not as boxy-looking.”

We took our boys (the daughter is out of town, visiting her cousins) to Costco and loaded up the back, where there was plenty of space. There’s a shelf to hide your cargo, although I wonder if it would fray easily over time. The boys found plenty of legroom in the backseat.

Weekend Athlete: Honda CR-V

The Element and CR-V give Honda two distinct offerings in the small SUV segment. If the Element is the kid you can't keep out of mud puddles, the CR-V is the cleaner, dressier sibling. Still, it does OK in the world of camping and racing despite its clean-cut nature.

The CR-V works best as a camping vehicle. It and the Element remain the only ones I've tested that I believe could easily carry gear for three or four people because there's enough room behind the upright rear seat for the gear.

When an Auto Writer Buys a Car: Part III

After my wife delivered the crushing reality that a black Mazda CX-7 would not be our next car, it was back to full car-shopping mode. Like most people, we’re a busy couple and don’t have time to talk to dealers on the phone or go to a dealership on a weekday. We had to plan our shopping trips for the weekend, and in Illinois that means Saturday, since there are laws that don’t allow dealers to operate on Sunday.

Using online quotes and test-drive appointments was extremely helpful. I’m not just saying that because Cars.com offers the service — as do most automakers — it really does change the way you schedule your shopping and is extremely efficient.

With the Mazda CX-7 now out of the running, I knew we had to test drive the Honda CR-V. My wife owned a CR-V about seven years ago, and I reviewed the new 2007 model myself for Cars.com. It actually garnered a pretty glowing review, plus it’s safe and will have excellent resale value.

Compact SUV Faceoff Tests CR-V, RAV4, Outlander

Mike Hanley and I pitted three of the most popular new or redesigned compact SUVs on the market against each other to see which rules this competitive segment. We were both a bit surprised at the results and how one vehicle could be so good in one department but fail in the others. Check out the full faceoff, complete with video and the eventual winner. 

Cars.comparison: Compact SUVs

Honda Sport CR-V and Fit Sport Extreme Concepts

Honda handed brand-new cars to various aftermarket tuning houses to show off what someone could do to the company’s new Civics, Fits and Elements at this year’s SEMA show, but we’re only interested in what Honda wants to do to these vehicles. I guess we just don’t want to get our own hands dirty. To that point, the company debuted two concepts we think have merit and could enter the lineup relatively soon.

Suburban Dad: Rally Impressions

Earlier this month, the Cars.com reviewers brought me along to an otherwise journalist-only rally where they got an early look at dozens of new car models. They wanted to get some thoughts on new cars from a typical suburban dad, and they wanted to see what I’d consider buying for me, my wife or my teenage kids. These writers aren’t having kids yet and they’re pretty jaded about getting to drive the latest and greatest cars. I’m not. Here’s my take.